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The flat glass industry welcomes the mid-term review of the EU’s industrial policy and eagerly awaits the promised urgent actions

Date

11 Oct 2012

Sections

Innovation & Enterprise

Trade & Society

Brussels, 10th October 2012:

Europe’s flat glass manufacturers welcome the mid-term review of the EU’s integrated industrial policy for the horizon 2020. In particular, they welcome that sustainable construction and related manufacturing industries are recognized as essential for boosting Europe’s economy. In doing so, the European Commission echoes a strong conviction of Glass for Europe that sustainable construction and building renovation should become primary drivers of the transition towards a competitive low-carbon economy.

For European industrial actors eager to develop and manufacture innovative products in Europe, urgent policy actions are needed. They must all be designed in such a way as to ensure a level-playing field between EU based manufacturers and competitors from third countries. In that regard, Bertrand Cazes, Secretary General of Glass for Europe, highlights that ‘ensuring effective protection against carbon leakage is a pre-requisite’.

Glass for Europe also welcomes the Commission’s intention to pay greater attention to the competitiveness of European based industries before signing new free trade agreements. In today’s difficult economic climate, European flat glass manufacturers cannot afford that EU markets become flooded with products coming from third country competitors, which do not face the same constraints and have access to cheap energy.

Glass for Europe members are eager to manufacture in Europe the products that will help deliver Europe’s low carbon future. By embracing this approach, Europe can re-industrialize its economy but the promised urgent actions to support European manufacturing must be realized quickly.

Glass for Europe is the trade association for Europe’s manufacturers of flat glass. Flat glass is the material that goes into a variety of end-products and primarily in windows and façades for buildings, windscreens and windows for automotive and transport as well as glass covers, connectors and mirrors for solar-energy equipment. Flat glass is also used for many other applications such as furniture, electronics, appliances, etc.

Glass for Europe has four members: AGC Glass Europe, NSG-Group, Saint-Gobain Glass and Sisecam-Trakya Cam and works in association with Guardian. Altogether, these five companies represent 90% of Europe’s flat glass production.